I got some bad news about a friend on Sunday and on Monday a different friend had a baby but had a lot of very very scary complications that have left her in the hospital all week. So this week has be rough. I've been in total denial of both situations and have been numbing myself by allowing for pretty much no downtime. Which I admit is not the healthiest coping skill ever, but it is just that- coping.

The internet has been a good place to escape to this week (and every week), so here are some links that I ran across this week that made this week a little more bearable.

In #adulting news, I was at a friend's house last night and we somehow started discussing...laundry. Yep, wild Friday night with these gals. My friend told me about wool dryer balls and how much she enjoys using them and that you can put essential oils on them to scent and soften your clothes naturally. I happened to find some at World Market today and put them in my cart. I'm weirdly excited about trying them out.

A couple of weeks ago was my bestie's wedding. One of my co-maids of honor has parents who live in Amsterdam right now. Her parents always send her some Dutch peppermints and she brought some to the wedding. I became obsessed. I ate so many of them. They were delicious and unlike any peppermint I've had before. While at World Market, I spotted them and subsequently added them to my cart along with the dryer balls (I swear this post is not an ad for World Market...I just genuinely love that store!).

Cool video- how to practice effectively. Basically, pay attention and challenge yourself. I really want to learn violin at some point and if I ever get around to it, I'll be sure to take this video's advice!

I bought a shit ton of lavender on Amazon recently to make sachets. And then I ran across this recipe and was real glad I had a whole ton of lavender just laying around. I made this simple syrup and WHOOOOOOOAAAAAA. IT'S GOOD. Y'all know by now that I am a #teaperson, so I made my latte with black tea (and almond milk) and it did not disappoint. I've drunk (drank? drink-ed?) several glasses this week, both iced and hot, and it's good no matter what. I'm thinking I'm going to start making my whipped cream with cool flavored simple syrups from now on. The possibilities are endless!!

A few years ago I went to Australia. It was awesome. I was there to work, though, and as such, I packed a lunch most days to eat at work. It costs a lot of money to go to Oz, so I wasn't about to be buying lunch everyday. I became obsessed with Australian ramen. It's so much better than our ramen. I'm preeeeetty sure it wasn't vegetarian, but I didn't think about it too much and just enjoyed the deliciousness. I ran across this recipe this week and it brought all my Australian ramen memories back and has given me intense cravings for ramen this week.

Gonna try this the next time ~that time~ comes around. I am keeping my expectations very low.

Well there you have it. Weekend reading. Tonight I am going to a Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn show which should be pretty amazing. Tomorrow I'm taking an intermediate weaving class with Rachel Denbow and I am PUMPED. Can't wait to report back on both!